Owen Loses His Memory
Owen was agitated. They had all noticed. But it wasn't uncommon, Owen found it within himself to get agitated about many things. He could discourse for over ten minutes – they knew, they'd timed him – on the injustice and iniquity of the fact that the petrol station on the corner raised its prices on a Friday and Saturday night, just to catch the unwary going out for the evening and needing a fill-up. He was caught regularly by the raised price. Tosh had tried to reason with him that, in fact, those were the normal prices per litre but the garage actually reduced them during the rest of the week in order to attract more custom and that if he had any sense whatsoever, he would clearly remember to fill up on a Thursday. Or a Wednesday. Or a Tuesday. Owen had remained steadfastly unconvinced but stalked out of the room before Tosh could work her way through the rest of the days of the week.
"It must be around here somewhere!" Owen said, the frustration in his voice very obvious. He tossed papers around his desk, looking for all the world like a blackbird throwing leaves vigorously aside in search of a greater prize.
He'd been like it all morning, to the point where Jack had banned Ianto from letting the doctor have any more caffeine until he calmed down a little. Although this really hadn't helped the immediate situation, Jack knew from experience that it was saving them all from something worse to come.
"Someone must have taken it!" Owen concluded, after his third search of the Hub in three hours did not reveal the item for which he was looking.
"Owen," sighed Gwen, "Who would have taken it? And why?"
"Teaboy." suggested Owen, glaring balefully at Ianto. "In revenge for something."
Ianto shook his head wearily as he looked the doctor in the eye. "Why would I do that? I have a perfectly good one of my own. And it's bigger than yours." There was no denying the smugness in his voice as he uttered the last sentence.
"All I know is, I left it on my desk, right by my computer and now it has gone." Owen folded his arms petulantly across his chest, hugging his white coat protectively to him whilst hunting surreptitiously in the pockets, just in case. This gesture wasn't lost on anyone.
"Are you sure you left it on your desk?" questioned Tosh, gently. She was surprisingly sympathetic.
Owen passed a weary hand over his face. "Yes. No. Maybe. I think so. I don't know."
"So really," Ianto picked up on the shortcoming very quickly, "it could be absolutely anywhere. You have no idea where? And clearly, no evidence that anyone has taken it."
Owen realised that he was backed into a corner. "Yeah, OK. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't leave it by my PC. But it is vitally important. I need it."
Jack was barely able to keep a straight face now, but felt as Captain that he was obliged to attempt to guide the team back from the brink of crisis to normailty. And Owen was clearly having a crisis. Although that was quite normal. "You do appreciate the irony in this situation, don't you?" questioned Jack, biting back his mirth.
Owen shot him a glare that could have killed, twice over. Or possibly on the hour, every hour. For as long as it took.
Jack could contain himself no longer and started laughing. "Lighten up, Dr Harper. Only you could forget where you've left your PC's memory stick!"